Electric-street-car lamp.



No. 726,848. PA-TENTED 'MAY15, 1901's.-

0. 0. BENSON.

ELECTRIC STREET GAR LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, 1902.

. 10 MODEL.

, WITNESSES INVENTDR we Noam: PKYERS no Puurou'ma, WASHXNGYON. u. c

Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OF ICE.

CHARLES Q'BENSON, OF NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC-STREETJ-CAR LAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 72e,s4s,aateu ma 5, loos:

Application filed April 18, 1902.

To aZZ whom it may cor ccrn:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. BENSON, of Newburyport, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric- Street-Oar Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

Figure 1 is a sectional view of my lamp before current is turned on. Fig. 2 is a view of my lamp in operation. Fig. 3 is a View of the bottom of the solenoid-seat at the points Y and Z in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a front view of my lamp attached to a car.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in all views.

This invention relates particularly to lamps for electric street-cars, although the system can be applied to all cases where lights are necessary.

My device is intended to give a compact, simple, and easily-operated lamp for street-cars and other purposes and to supply means for positively operating and trimming the same.

My invention is constructed in the following manner: The solenoid'is held in a frame E, made of brass or any suitable material, this frame being shown in cross-section in Fig. l. A hole is cut at the top of the frame to allow for the passing of the carbon B, which is inserted at the top into the hollow armature A, which extends downward through the solenoid and some distance below it; The circular piece or seat 0 at the bottom of the solenoid-frame, together with the circular hole for the passage of the armature, are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Attached to this circular piece or seat 0 is the lug D, which holds the jointed operating-arm E, the lower end of which operating-arm is movably fastened to a lug F on the side of the hollow armature and terminatesin a clutch which acts directly on the carbon when energized by the current. Attached to the movable armature on the side opposite to the lug F is the armature-lifter G, provided with a hole to allow the passage of the rod H. This rod H is attached to the bottom of the solenoid-frame, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and is threaded at its lower end. This rod passes down through the hole in the lifter G and is provided with set-nuts I and I, one above and one below the lifter G, for raising or lower- Serial No. 103,515. (No model.)

ing the armature and securing it in the position desired. The lower-carbon holder is provided with clamps J for holding the car'- bon, the clamps being set bymeans'of the knurled nut K. The carbon. as thus held can be raised or lowered at will. This carbon-holder terminates in a disk L, provided with notches which engage with the teeth of the adjusting member M, this adjusting member being controlled by the spring N.

When it is desired to raise or lower the holder, it is simply necessary to press the adjusting member M inward and to raise or lower the' carbon-holder to the desired position, after which release the adjusting member M, the teeth of which engage with the notches and hold the holder firmly, the position of the holder in raising or lowering being controlled by the rod 0.

The lamp is fastened to the turning mech-- anism of the car by means of the bracket P.

I will now describe the operation of my lamp. The wire Q is connected with a resistance-coil in the car. The current passes through this wire, through the solenoid, and out through the wire" R to the armaturelifter G and throughethe upper carbon by contact with the armature to the lower carbon and thence to the negative circuit. When the power is turned on, it causes the lifting mechanism to raise the armature and carbon to itsproper distance, determined by the adjustment of the nuts land I, in which place it is held by the clutch at the end of the arm. As the carbon is consumed it is drawn downward by the suction of the arc to a position sufficient to maintain a proper length of arc.

The lamp is covered with ahood, as shown in Fig. 4, and is attached to an upright turning spindle.

In the operation of the light in case it becomes necessary to adjust so that the armature will not pick up as quickly I cut in the extra wire E. This wire 'R has" fewer turns on the solenoid, and hence less power, and is intended to be cut in when it is not necessary for the clutch to act quickly.

What I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. Asanew article of manufacture an electric-arc lamp, having a solenoid, a jointed opcrating-arm E terminating in a clutch at its lower end, a movable armature A, an armature-lifter G, provided with the rod H, on which said armature-lifter operates, said rod being provided With the set-nuts I and 1', one above and one below the armaturelifter G, for the purposes specified.

2. In an eleotric-arc'lamp, the combination of the solenoid, the jointed operatingarm E, movably fastened to thelug F on the side of the hollow armature A; said jointed operating-arm terminating at its lower end in a clutch, the hollow armature A, the armature-lifter G, the rod H, provided with the set-screws I and I, the lower-carbon holder provided with the clamps J, which are controlled by the knurlednut K,"substantially for the purposesand in the manner described.

3. In an arc-lamp a lower-carbon holder,

nature in presence ot two witnesses.

CHARLES o. BENSON.

Witnesses: EDITH V. OURRIER,

L. A. LADD. 

